CapSat 6

It doesn't take some crummy dialogue in a movie to hear stuff like this: I have heard things like this in real life, at car shows and cruises!

The 340 from the Duster kit could be dressed as a 318 or 360 pretty easily. I wish Round 2 would offer that engine separately, as it's the only decent Mopar LA engine in 1/25 scale. In 1/24, at least you have the 340 Six Pack from the Revell '70 Challenger and the 318 from the Monogram '80 Ramcharger, but I think these engines would look out of scale in the MPC pickup. A slant 6 would be neat (take your pick: the one from the Lindberg '64 Plymouth, or even the one from the AMT Deora kit). A modern Hemi would be sweet! Who will take a shot at replicating one of the rare, one-year only Mitsubishi diesel-equipped '78's???

Here we go!!! - I think this will be a very good seller. -The kit itself is ok- it's a vintage tool, with vintage tool limitations. Most of it is reasonably accurate, if simple. My big beef with it is the lack of positive mounting for the grille- it's difficult to mount the grille in any version of this kit, and it's very easy to mount it improperly, by "tunneling it into" the fender sides. The grille is supposed to fit ahead of the fender corners, rather than inside of them. I did get on Round 2's site, sent them a note, and asked that they would look at fixing the tooling to add tabs or some other way of mounting the grille in a better manner. -There is a lot of potential for different variations of this kit. 4x2, 4x4, Sweptline & Utiline beds, bench & bucket seat interiors, different model years to offer, not to mention special packages like the Midnite Express, Warlock and Macho. I really hope that most of the various tooling inserts could be found for this one. -There is always room for improvement- the first things I can think of are: adding the engine and transmission from the AMT '71 Charger, wheels and/or tires from Fireball Modelworks. With a little love, this kit can shine.

As long as it doesn't come with the 1/20 scale racing tires from the original annuals, I'll be happy. The larger diameter Desert Dog 4x4 tires (last seen in the '84-ish GMC 4x4 pickup, and Jeep Commando 4x4 kits re-released recently) will fit the large size steel wheels from the original Dodge Pickup annual kits, so hopefully they use those tires rather than the 1/20 semi-slicks, at a bare minimum. Some of the earlier annuals had both 2wd & 4wd set ups in the same box, using the MPC Goodyear Polysteel(?) tires and stock wheel covers for the 2wd version, and the large steel wheels with the 1/20 racing tires for the 4wd version, so it's possible that they could offer this as a 2wd/ 4wd kit.

The original MPC 1971 Demon was a rare one- it was a mid-year release based on the same tool they used for the 1971 Duster. Once they did their run of 71 Demons, they took the same tool and revised it to produce the '72 Duster annual. That same tool eventually became the '76 Dart Sport, so as far as we know, the original '71 Demon from MPC can't be brought back. As far as I can tell, the same tool was used for the following kits: 1971 Duster Annual 1971 Demon mid year Annual 1972 Duster Annual 1972 California Flash Pro Stock 1973 Duster Annual 1973 Mopar Missile Pro Stock 1974 Duster Annual 1975 Duster Annual 1975 Dart Sport Annual 1976 Dart Sport Annual In any case, there were small errors made when they created the '71 Demon back then- the front wheel openings were never changed from the Duster shape. Real life Dusters & Demons had different shapes here because the Demon simply used the '70-'71 Dodge Dart Swinger front fenders, which had wheel openings that were styled to match the rear wheel openings on the Swinger body. The Duster was a surprise hit for Plymouth, and started out as a Plymouth exclusive- once 1970 Duster sales became evident, Dodge dealers cried out for a Duster clone, so they simply used the Dart Swinger front clip with no changes to create the Demon for 1971. As a result, the Demon front wheel openings did not match the rear wheel openings of the "Duster/Demon" body in 1:1. Also, I think I read here in another thread that there was something wrong with how they did the Demon hood on the '71 mid-year annual kit. ERTL did a 1/18 '71 Duster diecast which they later revised into a '71 Demon (about 20 years ago). To my eyes, they did a terrible job revising it, the Duster looked OK (I have one), but the Demon they did had a very awkward flat shape to the front end. You would think that with relatively modern tooling technology they could get this right, but just take a look at one of those 1/18 Demon diecasts and it's evident that it is just wrong. I hope that whomever takes a shot at doing a '71 Demon will do it right. If it looks anything like the 1/18 diecast, then count me out. I had hope that perhaps Revell would have tackled both the 1970 Swinger 340 and the '71 Demon with all new tools, but unfortunately they might be out of play now...

Sorry about all of the speculation, Tim...just...excited to see this one back!!! The possibility of a utiline short bed is pretty cool, too!!!

A ‘72 Dodge with the Racer’s Wedge rear body would be awesome!

The last issue of these trucks was a ‘78 Lil’ Red Express; Round 2 might also have the ‘79-‘80 Grille and hood (last seen in the “Fire Fighter” shortbed 4x4 and the “ThundersTruck” puller longbed truck). It might be that the ‘76-prior grilles are gone. If you swap to one of the earlier grilles, there isn’t much else to body changes you would need (I think just the earlier lower valence that has turn signal lights in it), so somebody could cast these in resin for a retro fit, or, if the ‘78’s sell really well, maybe Round 2 could retool these pieces...but they will likely start with what they have. I think I have seen the earlier grilles available in resin on eBay from time to time.

They could conceivably do a 2wd Warlock pretty easily, if they found the bed rails and wagon wheels... https://www.nydailynews.com/amp/autos/street-smarts/bizarre-car-week-1978-dodge-warlock-article-1.2197505 https://www.mecum.com/lots/SC0513-153852/1978-dodge-warlock-pickup/

Probably true, but notice the name they are using is VERY specific...D 100’s could be had either with Utiline or Sweptline beds, and as a Custom, that’s the base trim line. The Lil’ Reds were based on the mid range Adventurer trim. Maybe they found the bench seat interior last seen in the Monster Trucks, and they’re putting this out more as a work truck? The moldings having been removed precludes this from being put out in Adventurer SE trim, but they could still put it out as a Custom with a Sweptline bed, or, if they find the 4x4 parts, they could do a Macho Wagon eventually... ...either way, since it’s not being identified as a Lil’ Red, I think that something is afoot...

Pics of the John Heyer Body...ignore the lower rear bumpers...I had cut into them to add custom exhaust outlets from a Revell 90’s T Bird...

All I can say is: the 83 Imperial that TKM did was worse than this. Imagine a slush cast body, sort-of K Car proportions in the middle body, with huge overhangs (and the attendant "nose bent nearly to the sky"), and not a straight line on the entire body. To be fair, TKM was a very early entrant into the scale auto cottage industry (these were produced a LONG time ago), offering ambitious and interesting subject matter. I did speak to the owner on the phone once (this was before I actually received my Imperial ), his heart was definitely in the right place...he had a passion for the work and the subject matter. It would have been great if he came along now instead of the early 80's and tried to do these in 3D...

Southern Motorsport Hobbies does the NASCAR version of the 80's Imperial: http://stores.smhracing.com/81-imperial-nascar/ I bought one of these Imperials many years ago from TKM Models. I was just a bit extremely disappointed when I got it. The best way I can describe it is: folk art. I'm sure you have heard about TKM's models before: the caster had good intentions, but the execution was, to be kind, lacking. I cut it up in an effort to make it into something buildable. I had good intentions and a basic lack of skills, too. I have one that was done by John Heyer. It's MUCH better than the TKM piece, but still not what I would call "Air Trax" execution. It's sort of a stalled project - I began building it as a mild street rod. I'll have to post some pics when I get home. Lastly, I started trying to make one out of a Monogram '81 Thunderbird body about 15 year ago. It looked like it was going to work. I had an extra scrap Heyer body (with voids in it) that I was going to use for the nose. Once the SMH body came out, I just bought one of those, so that it could languish in the box with my own attempt. I'll have to find that one and post pics of that one, too. Although I have never really announced this before, I am the King of Stalled Projects- everything is a good idea to me! A skilled builder might be able to combine the Air Trax Mirada with the SMH piece and make a stock one. Hint, hint, Bill G.... ;)

It would have been nearly impossible to sell their business whole...it evolved as a True Unicorn- an improbable, large, high-quality operation operating in a tiny niche. Whatever they were asking for it was probably fair (consider that they had a vast product line), but anybody who would have been interested in in probably would not have had the means (not to mention skill) to acquire it. They were highly skilled, practiced, diligent workers - it was truly a labor of love. They were able to retire on what they made on it, which was very nice (and it's getting tougher and tougher to retire anymore), but I doubt anybody could actually get rich off of that business model. The only shot we might have had at somebody continuing it would have been if the molds and masters were sold to multiple parties- and that is still my hope. Maybe a half dozen or so existing casters could pick up everything. I'm thinking maybe a Mopar specialist could take over the Mopar products, for instance, one of the Truck specialists could take over the truck stuff, etc. It seems that most casters carve out their specialty, and more or less stick with their way of doing business (creating molds, producing & filling orders, etc.). It's definitely a comfort thing, as for most, it's a side business rather than a full time thing. Lastly, it would be daunting for anybody who would want to make that leap from part-time to full-time.

A lot of '68-'70 Chargers are getting the custom treatment these days. I have definitely seen uglier!

Thanks! Not bad for a Mopar Guy, eh? The red convertible was a bonehead mistake- I had 70 on the brain... Then the orange one is an AMT '70, or a resin version of the same... & Multi-car- would that be a Palmer by any chance?

Correction- the multicolored car is a Revell '70 1/24.

I'll play! White car, back left: MC2 Diecast. Red car, back right: Monogram Boss 429 1/24. Multi-colored car, left: AMT '70 1/25. Red car, 2nd from left: MPC '70. Green car, middle: AMT '69. Yellow Car, 2nd from right: Revell/ Monogram '70 Boss 302. Red car, right: Original Revell '70 Grande.

If they ever do a Mopar of some kind, I'm there.

It's OK, if a bit under-scale. If you have seen / built the MPC '69 Mustang Mach 1 (which has been reissued several times since '69), then this is pretty much the same kit, updated for 1970. This kit was never re-released after 1970 to my knowledge. The chassis and engines are about what you would get in your average 1970-era kit. Neither engine in the kit (the first: a 289, sort of done like a Boss 302, and a 428-ish engine) are very accurate. The 289 is kind of under-scale as well. These are more or less the same engines as what were available in MPC's 1971-73 Mustang kits, too. If you need a '70 to build, then the Revell Monogram 1/24 kits would be more accurate, less expensive and overall better building experiences. I have built both an MPC '69 and several Revell '70's, and I was much happier with the Revell '70's.

I think it would have been the natural thing for Revell to do these, but of course, things have changed for them, so sadly, I don't think we won't be seeing them come from Revell. The Chargers could be done in multiple variants as well- even a police version could fly. There is a black police car my township uses- it's a '15 or later, slick top, black graphics, alloy (not stamped steel) wheels. Very striking looking- probably the toughest looking cop car I have ever seen! Sort of like Mad Max's Interceptor running around my town! I think one problem with making a sales case for new Chargers is: Testors/ Lindberg went all-in on kits of the 2006-2010 cars, and I don't think those kits sold too well. They were pricy for the time, although they were undeniably really, really nice kits. They had R/T, Daytona, SRT Super Bee and police variants. The police kits even had multiple stock wheel options and multiple light bar options in each kit. I think those kits will become very collectible (if they have not become so already) because of the subject matter's popularity in 1:1, relatively low production, and the general greatness of the kits themselves.

Yeah, really! I have lost track of all of the Challenger variants that are offered, but it seems to me that one basic tool could yield at least 3 or 4 variants- which seems to be all but required of new model kit tools these days to justify the effort. The Hellcat engine, at a minimum, should be available in scale. There is one in resin available, but I'd like to see an entire full detail plastic kit, as I think the subject is easily worthy of it.

Now more than ever, we need a new tool, full detail Hellcar Challenger, even if just for the powertrain. Three or four different factory stock variants could probably be offered from the same tool (Hellcat, Hellcat Widebody, Hellcat Demon, maybe an R/T Scat Pack 1320?), by tooling up different hoods, tires, wheels, fender flares, & interior bits, which could make their way to many other builds.

I’m looking forward to this build. When I was 13, a friend of mine named Walter had a dad who had one of these. We went for a long ride up PA 309 (speed limit: 55 mph) while Walt and I were sitting in those lawn chairs in the back. In a rainstorm. I’ll never forget that ride, of course...